A Guide to the Reierson (Johan Reinert) Family Papers,
1819-1891

Correspondence, business and legal
papers comprise the Johan Reinert Reierson Family Papers, 1819-1891, primarily
documenting Reierson’s business and legal activities prior to his settlement in
Texas in 1850.

Colonist and writer Johan Reinert Reierson (1810-1864) was born to to Ole and Kirsten
Gjerulfsdatter Reiersen in Vetsre Moland, Norway. After briefly attending the
University of Oslo, he pursued a literary career in Denmark and Germany. In the
1930s, Reierson found work as a Norwegian translator and editor for numerous
magazines and books. In 1843, Reierson traveled to the United States to compile
information for a handbook on the nation. After traveling to New Orleans, Reierson
came to Austin, Texas, where he met President Sam Houston, who invited him to bring
Norwegian settlers to the republic and promised aid in the establishment of a
colony. A year later, Reierson he wrote and published Pathfinder for Norwegian Emigrants to the United North American States and
Texas, the most comprehensive book at that time about America published
in Norway. With his family, including his wife Henrietta Waldt and brothers
Christian and George, a son Oscar, and a small group of Norwegians, Reierson
established the first Norwegian colony in Texas in 1848 on 1,476 acres of land
purchased in Henderson County. Several years later, Reierson established a second
colony in Van Zandt County, named Four Mile Prairie, later Prairieville.

Correspondence, business and legal papers comprise the Johan Reinert Reierson Family
Papers, 1819-1891, primarily documenting Reierson’s business and legal activities
prior to his settlement in Texas in 1850. Materials dated before 1850, such as 1830s
letters to his wife Henrietta, newspaper clippings, poetry, and his business and
legal documents are in Norwegian. Written in English are letters to his son, Oscar
Reierson in Virginia, noting the conditions of the Reierson family in Texas and the
troubles caused due to the Civil War. Additionally, the collection includes
confederate currency and an 1867 Virginia Loan and Trust Company shared certificate.